Sha Hassko hit a three-run home run and Felix Hoyano struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings as Canada shut out Australia 4-0 on Saturday in an elimination game at the Little League Baseball World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.
The team from Vancouver, Canada, will face Panama on Monday.
Cruz Krpan reached first on a fielder’s choice in the first inning and advanced to third on a line-drive single by Hassko. Krpan scored on an error by second baseman Nick Robson on the play, giving Canada the only run it would need.
Hassko’s three-run homer came with two outs in the top of the sixth.
Hoyano did not walk a batter and allowed just one hit, a leadoff infield single by Daniel Warwick of the Sydney club in the first inning. Hikaru Kaneko took the loss after allowing one run on four hits and one walk. He struck out two.
Ohio 10, Massachusetts 0 (four innings)
Josiah Infante and Leo Feltner combined on a four-inning no-hitter as Hamilton, Ohio, eliminated Bridgewater, Mass., with a run-rule victory.
Infante worked 2 2/3 innings and struck out four before Feltner retired all four batters he faced. Massachusetts, representing the New England Region, managed only two baserunners, both on walks in the second inning. Ohio, representing the Great Lakes Region, retired the final eight batters of the game.
Ohio broke the game open with seven runs in the third inning, using four walks along with timely hitting and small ball. Feltner, who had doubled to lead off the second, added an RBI during the third-inning outburst.
Japan 10, Caribbean 1
Tensei Yazawa belted a two-run homer in the first inning as Tokyo, Japan, bounced back from its opening loss with a 10-1 victory over Santiago, Dominican Republic, representing the Caribbean Region.
Yazawa’s blast gave Japan an immediate 2-0 advantage, and the offense continued to pile on from there. It was a sharp reversal from Japan’s first game in Williamsport, when it was held without a hit in a 6-0 loss to Curacao.
Japan’s pitching staff limited the Caribbean Region to one run to keep its tournament alive. The Dominican Republic was eliminated with its second loss, while Japan moves on to face the Europe-Africa Region representative from Brno, Czech Republic.
Alabama 12, California 2 (four innings)
Urijah Berklite scattered six hits while allowing two runs, one earned, in four innings and got plenty of offensive support as Phenix City, Ala., eliminated Bonita, Calif., in a run-rule victory.
Cam Lee slugged a two-run homer and walked to drive in a run for Phenix City, which scored 12 runs in the second through fourth innings. Kinley Rasmus was 2-for-2 with an RBI double, walk, and two runs scored. Easton Allen (2-for-3, one RBI, two runs) and Casen Smith (2-for-3, one RBI, one run) also had multiple hits as the team totaled eight.
Berklite struck out six and walked one in four innings. Isaac Ramirez Aguirre, the starting pitcher for Bonita of the West Region, allowed three runs (none earned), two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in two innings.
Phenix City of the Southeast Region will face West Chester, Pa., of the Mid-Atlantic Region on Monday.
–Field Level Media
